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cheolsu
Joined: 16 Jan 2009
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 Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:41 am Post subject: |
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The air quality here in Seoul is probably worse than in a North American city, but that really shouldn't affect your running. I've been running for 11 years and I know dozens of runners living in Seoul around my speed or faster than me, people with years of experience capable of running anywhere from 32-40 minutes for 10k. No one has ever mentioned the air quality.
Traffic is an issue. I'm lucky to live near a big university campus and a stream with a path next to it, which connects to the Cheonggyecheon.
I did the We Run Seoul 10k last year and I didn't really like it. It was just too big, too crowded and too much of a gong show compared to a similarly-sized race with better organization (eg the Seoul International Marathon every March).
If you missed out on the Nike race but still want to try a 10k this fall, let me recommend the Sports Seoul Marathon (http://marathon.sportsseoul.com) on November 13. They have a 10k, a half and a marathon. The race starts and finishes at the World Cup stadium, with most of the course along the Han River. There's one big hill at the end when you go up from the river to the stadium, but other than that it's flat. The weather is also cool by then, making it a great day for running. I've run it twice and had a great race both times. |
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runthegauntlet
Joined: 02 Dec 2007
Location: the southlands.
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hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
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| Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 5:07 am Post subject: |
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| hogwonguy1979 wrote: |
Only big gripe I have with races here is foreigners tend to be treated like zoo animals more than usual which can sometimes be good or bad. |
Can you tell a little bit more? I ran the Jeju marathon in June. I didn't have any problems. Well, one problem was the students that volunteered sometimes tried to talk to me too much and I couldn't ignore them (I felt bad) so it was difficult running and talking when we got farther away.
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The in town races arent bad in terms of us being treated like zoo animals. people know our club since we host a time trial every month and we invite other seoul clubs to compete, they are pretty cool. Also we tend to split pretty soon after the race so people dont have a chance to gawk at us.
out of town especially in the rural areas the zoo factor is pretty big. In the past month I've been to the DMZ run in Cheorlwon (that one gets a huge number of foreign runners) and a race in Gapyeong yesterday, both places at least I felt that we were gawked at, asked "where are you from?" etc more often. At the DMZ we were all sitting out after our races waiting for the awards and it felt like we were zoo animals. Yesterday at Gapyeong you could just feel the gawking as we walked into the stadium.
There are some races like Jeju, Seoul International, Hi Seoul etc. that do a wonderful job hosting foreigners and going out of their way to keep the gawking etc to a minimum. I really think its the smaller races that want to make a "name" by getting foreigners to come to them thats the problem. Kind of reminded me when we first came to Korea in 96, once they get used to us running races it will be fine |
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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| ChrisLamp wrote: |
| shostahoosier wrote: |
| ChrisLamp wrote: |
| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
On a side note, Korea is pretty great for cross-country running. |
I take great exception to this. The air quality is TERRIBLE and affects runners quite a bit. That coupled with the unpredictable nature of Korean drivers makes Korea a pretty bad place for running. |
He said Korea, not Seoul. 
Regarding We Run Seoul - I did it last year and it was a good time. Scenic run along the Han River with bands and Djs performing on stages set up every few kilometers.
I am doing the race again this year and whats reported is right - the race sold out very quickly. I hear though that they reserve some spots for foreigners (they did last year) so its worth sending an email. |
Maybe you haven't spent much time in the Korean "Countryside" but I can tell you that the air pollution and general hectic feeling on the streets is on par with or worse than most large north american cities. At least in Asan. |
I live in the Korean countryside and the air is fine and it's nothing like a large North American city. People actually clean our streets every morning (weather permitting). My area is actually pretty clean if you ignore the horrid urban planning.
Maybe you dont have much experience in the Korean countryside. |
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ChrisLamp
Joined: 27 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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| when I look out my window on a "sunny" day and all i see is smog. when I run down the street and inhale the fumes of burning garbage and tires. I'd say thats pollution on the scale of LA, or worse. |
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Then I guess we'll both have to agree that Korea is neither completely polluted or completely clean, meaning it is possible to run some places without dealing with smog. |
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